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Updated: Sep 8, 2025
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Staff perceptions of their roles in infection prevention and control in residential aged care homes: A qualitative
Nantanit van Gulik1, Wendy Calder2, Philippa Blencowe3
1School of Nursing and Midwifery and Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research in the Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research - Eastern Health Partnership, Eastern Health, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia.
Background:
Older people who live in residential aged care homes (RACHs) are particularly vulnerable to infections. Without staff commitment and engagement, even the most well-designed policies and guidelines may fail to achieve infection prevention and control (IPAC) effectiveness. The aim of this study was to examine staff perceptions of their roles in IPAC in RACHs.
Methods:
A qualitative descriptive study using semistructured interviews with 21 direct care and support staff was conducted on 2 RACHs in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were interviewed from May to October 2024. Transcribed audio-recordings of interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results:
Both direct care and support staff perceived their primary role in IPAC as providing both physical safety and emotional support to older people. While they recognized the importance of routine and outbreak-related IPAC practices, they identified key barriers such as older people's cognitive impairment, home-like environments, and staffing challenges. Most participants felt supported by organizational training but emphasized the need for ongoing IPAC education regardless of role.
Conclusions:
The findings highlight the importance of tailored IPAC training, including communication strategies for supporting older people with cognitive impairment, along with team collaboration and workforce retention measures to sustain effective IPAC in RACHs.
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